I first made this recipe for my Game of Thrones premiere party back in April. I am now addicted to them and I need an Anonymous meeting for them. So I’m going to get you all addicted to them and then we can have meetings and eat them together. 😉

The original recipe for this came from Inn at the Crossroads, a blog that specializes in Westerosi cuisine. I love them and their mission (they have a cookbook out now!), but I have made some modifications to their original.
I also want to mention that, as a work in progress, I have actually made some more adjustments to this process since the date that I took these pictures. I’ll make note of the changes as I go. I would normally have waited to share this until I was more settled on the recipe, but I’m sharing this recipe at a tutorial event on Saturday and I wanted to have it available if anybody wants to know the recipe.

These are the ingredients you’ll need:

– Peppers. Bell peppers of any color are nice, and I’m a big fan of the “mini bells” that I’ve found at the market this season. Spicy peppers like jalapenos are also good for this!

– Goldfish crackers. Other cheesy crackers will work as well.
– Onions. I used two small ones this time, but one large will do as well. Adjust to your preference.
– Cheese. Cheddar was my choice this day. I also have used Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Mozzarella. Any of these are nice.
– A block of cream cheese. I never said these were light on fat.
– Spices of your choosing. I always put cumin in. Garlic and red pepper flakes are nice, as are chile powder and just about anything you’d like to add.

There are essentially three parts to this recipe: the filling, the topping, and the peppers themselves. First, let’s prep the peppers so they’re ready when we are. Use a paring knife to remove the stem end of each pepper, and then cut it in half so it can lay flat. Remove all the seeds. If you’re using spicy peppers and don’t want them to be too hot, make sure you get all of the white membrane inside as well.
If you’re using smaller peppers like jalapenos or mini bells, you can simply cut off the top and scoop out the seeds, leaving the peppers intact. This is my current favorite way to do them, but I also really love the big bells.

Next, let’s create the filling. Chop up your onion(s) into a small dice. Here’s one of the biggest changes I’ve made – put these onions in a skillet with a splash of oil and cook them first. They’ll get soft and transparent, and a little brown around the edges. You can add spices directly to the onions if you like (garlic and red peppers are good here). I feel that the added flavor, not to mention softness, of the cooked onions is way better here. You may skip this step if you choose, as I did on this preparation.

Now you can shred your cheese, if it’s not pre-shredded. There was, at one point, a measurement involved with this, but I just eye it now. When the mountain looks big enough, I’m done. Haha. You’ll also want your cream cheese softened. If you cooked your onions, all you need to do is put the cream cheese in a bowl and put the onions on top and they’ll soften it right up. If you’re going with raw onions, try popping it in the microwave for a few seconds (withOUT the metal wrapper).

Put your onions and cheeses in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Looking at this photo with a bit more practice, I can say that there are a few too many onions in here and perhaps not enough cheese. You can adjust the ratio to your liking of course. You can also add any spices you’d like at this point. I generally don’t, though, since the onions are already spiced and I’m about to spice the topping.

Pop some cheesy crackers into the bowl of your food processor and crunch them up. You can also just beat them in a plastic bag but that takes too long for me. You can make the topping as crunchy or as fine as you’d like. I prefer it somewhere between the two, with some larger chunks but also a lot of fine-crumb sized pieces. While the crackers are spinning, add the spices. The spice that must flow here, for me, is cumin. Not too much; you don’t want to overwhelm it. Red pepper flakes will add a nice kick, and garlic is never remiss. Paprika and chile powder are also nice, and I bet nutmeg would make a good appearance as well.

Now that you’ve got all the parts, it’s time to assemble! Simply scoop the filling into the peppers. If you’re doing it popper-style with whole peppers, you may want to use a chopstick to press it down into the tip of the pepper.
Then, add the topping. Just sprinkle it on and press it down into the cheesy filling a bit. Or, you can pick up the peppers (the smaller ones) and just dip them in. The original recipe called for an egg wash and some rolling, but I didn’t like that very much.

Pop those babies into the oven! I think I do them at 350F for, oh about 15 minutes? I’ll be honest – I don’t time it. 350 is the default for my oven so I go with that, but then I just kinda keep an eye on them until they get all melty and soft. You can poke and prod them if you’re concerned about pepper texture.
However long it takes them in the oven, when they come out they are full of molten cheese and absolutely delicious. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was addicted. These make a great appetizer, of course, but I’ve also served them as a main course with a side of rice! And don’t worry about making too many. On the rare occasion that they’re not all eaten immediately, just put them in the fridge. Warm them up a bit in the microwave the next day and they are Even Better! (If that’s even possible, that is.)

Have you ever made a “geek recipe”? What was it, and how did it turn out?

Well, I *intended* to post a web weekend post this past weekend. I was even relatively caught up on my reader! But, well, I ended up taking a vacation from the internet. We went out and had our Standard Saturday Fun, and that evening I just didn’t feel like internetting. Sunday was Cleaning Day, and when that was done, I started on a needlepainting project (omg it’s amazing by the way).

So let’s just call that a vacation and I’ll pick up again next weekend with the roundup-ing.

Last week I actually managed to find time to *gasp* play a video game! According to the save files on the disk, it’d been a year and a half since I last played Wind Waker, and that’s just sad. I’m enjoying replaying it though – Wind Waker is a very relaxing game to me, and I could listen to Fado’s music for days on end.

Not sure that I’ll be able to play this week or not. I’d like to. In fact, I would really like to find some time to actually finish Skyward Sword. I’ve beaten all but the final boss twice. The first time, I made an idiotic mistake in the fight with Ghirahim, and was too ashamed to play that file again. (I let him break my shield, and it was the only one I had, so I had to let him kill me.) The second time, I defeated Ghirahim and the first stage of the fight with Demise, but couldn’t figure out the trick to the second phase. Yes, I’m dumb. Now I think I know what to do. The problem is, it’s been so long since I played that I feel awkward picking up the almost-complete file, like I’m cheating or something. My husband will laugh his butt off at me if I restart though. (I am notorious for getting halfway through a game and deciding I liked playing the beginning and want to do it again, or whatever.)

Oh, I made an ipad cover this weekend! It was commissioned by a friend. It was fun. I made a little “ipad” out of cardboard to use as a test subject to make sure I got the dimensions right. It’s a father’s day gift, so it was a rush order and I’ll be posting it later today. Hopefully she’ll be able to purchase it quickly and I can mail it out to be there in time. (I just want to point out that the time crunch is not my fault and not typical of commissioned orders. I received the selected fabric in the mail exactly one day before I made the product. )

Probably the only iPad I’ll ever own, lol. 😉

By the way, my garden is growing like CRAZY. If THIS is the difference between organic soil and crappy Miracle Gro soil, guess which one I’m using for the rest of my life. (Hint: it’s not the over-advertised one.)

Let’s see, what else… Oh! I’ve also found some time/inclination lately to read some more! According to my Kindle Fire, I am now 50% through with Dance With Dragons. 🙂 I’m really enjoying it. Although, I encountered a particularly painful spoiler the other day and I’m dreading it. 😦

This is going to be a rather busy week, I think – but I am definitely putting “draft posts” at the top of my to-do list, and hopefully I’ll be able to post a bit more often.

Do you find it harder to stay on top of your to-do list in the summertime? Are you planning a vacation? Have you read any good books or played any great games lately? Let’s talk about summer fun. 🙂

I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve just been insanely busy lately. I enjoy most of the things I do, but it seems like I haven’t had any downtime in forever. I haven’t even had spare time for reading! Today I’ve got a collection of pictures to share, of some of my recent projects in progress!

This is a quick shot I took of my to-do list just before I sat down to upload pictures and write this post. The right side is tasks for my home or family – stuff like “clean the fridge” and “mail Mother’s Day cards.” The left side is personal projects or desires, mostly for Etsy or for my blogs. Yes, it’s giant. And it’s mostly not very itemized. It just says “clean,” instead of “clean living room and bathroom and bedroom and kitchen,” for example. Told ya I’m busy.

I’ve been trying new recipes, but I haven’t been photographing them. I’ve got such a backlog of recipes to blog about. So it’s a great time to try new things, so I can improve on them before I blog about them. This is last night’s dinner – Spinach, Ricotta, and Parmesan Stuffed Shells. I based them off a recipe I shared with you a few weeks ago – Spinach-Stuffed Canneloni by Happiness Stan. Delicious, although there are a few things I’m going to do differently next time. I’m really loving recipes that fold the vegetables into the main dish, because we have a tendency to forget to make the veggie until the food is done. Also, I officially love ricotta. It makes such lovely leftovers.

A new project! Care to guess? I shared the inspiration for this with you just a few days ago. It’s rock candy! I loved the jewelry idea from 1 Fine Cookie, but I decided I’d better try out just plain rock candy first. I stirred up some sugar syrup, added in a little of the flavor extracts I had on hand, and some coloring. It’s a pretty simple concept, so I don’t anticipate any problems.

Here’s a quick shot of some earrings I knocked together today. The ones on the left are for Kako. They’re a version of my Corkscrew earrings, with silver-colored copper wire and Sapphire blue freshwater pearls. They turned out a bit longer than I expected. The ones on the right are pearlescent black glass pearls, wrapped with 26-gauge wire. Quite delicate. I like them. Look for them in my shop on June 1st!

Here’s a sneak peek of another commissioned jewelry piece. My friend Ri likes cameos like my Secret Cameo earrings, but doesn’t wear earrings. So I went on the hunt for a necklace for her. I found this classic-looking pendant, and embellished it with 28 green Swarovski elements. It hangs at about the breastbone, from a double-loop of black cable chain. I’m really happy with it.

I’ve also been sewing! This is a prototype of an e-reader cover that I’m hoping to produce for my shop, but it’s giving me fits at the moment. I’m happy with the front side, but the back just isn’t cooperating. I’ve got an idea I’m going to try next time I sit down with it, so hopefully it’ll work out well.

My sewing has been successful on other fronts though. Here’s a shot of a “string backpack” I knocked together from 2 fat quarters. We have a similar one (that we found in a parking lot haha) to carry dog-related items when we take Charlie for a walk. This one is the new home for kid-related stuff when we walk to the park. I really like the two velcro’ed pockets on the front, to stash my keys and wallet. I’m thinking about Etsying these as well. What do you think?

In honor of Matt Smith’s debut as the Eleventh Doctor 2 years ago, April 3 was Fish Custard Day. (Go watch The Eleventh Hour; you’ll understand.) I got brave and tried it. It was actually pretty good!

Here’s a process shot of a set of items that should be appearing in my shop on Listing Day (the first of June). Care to take a guess?

Another process shot, of a very old and long-since-completed project. I had this lovely skirt, but it was longer than I liked, and, um, too small in the waist. So I shortened it by hacking off the top. I’m quite happy with it. I’ve got to get the courage to model it so I can put up a proper post about it.

When I joined Paperback Swap a few weeks ago, I went through my box of “get rid of” books and listed them all. Except a few. Four of the seven Chronicles of Narnia books, in pretty rough shape. I couldn’t list them, but I didn’t want to just throw them away. So I salvaged them. I cut (by hand) hundreds of circles from the pages, and glued them onto a paper lantern I already owned. It turned out AMAZING. I’ve got a ton of scraps, as well as a whole book and a half, left, so I’m thinking about other things to do with the papers. I kept a couple of the chapter illustrations, and am thinking of using my scanner to blow them up and use them as embroidery patterns. The scraps of paper might get blended up into pulp so I can make “fresh” paper – I’ve got a bookmaking project running around my head too.

PONY CUPCAKES. Our FRG had a “cupcake social” this past weekend. (I apologize to my Pinterest followers for the deluge of cupcakes that one day that I was looking for ideas.) I made these little picks from the box art (yes I saved it, why do you ask) from my daughter’s ponies. I am particularly proud of these lovelies. Definitely expect to see a post featuring these babies in better detail soon.

Last photo of the day! This is a shot from wayy back at the beginning of April, the day of the season two premiere of Game of Thrones. I prepared a fabulous Westerosi feast. Somehow, the blog never got written about it. I made a number of amazing recipes that day though, and I plan to share them – especially those lovely Dornish peppers you see on the right in the foreground. Deeeeeelicious. Fresh bread dipped in salt was also a revelation of flavor.

This isn’t even all of the amazingness that I’ve been up to! Here’s just a quick sample of the things I’ve got folders of pictures for: Homemade Butter, Cola Cake, Fried Chicken, Roasted Chicken, Lasagna, Onion Rings, Shield Weaving, and Wheat Bread. I’ve also got some great craft tutorials in the planning stages (it’s harder than you think it is to take process photos of delicate things). Oh, and I got my May Birchbox the other day – that blog will be coming soon.
Don’t forget – next week is Giveaway Week! Be sure to come back early and often for your chances to win free stuff!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mishmash photoblog. Which project are you most excited to see more of?

This isn’t relevant to media, but I just wanted to share that I won another giveaway! This time from Button, Button. I chose the Rumpelstiltskin pattern and I’m excited to give it a go.
Also, speaking of giveaways, the Too Crewel one that I won a few weeks ago, an embroidery kit from Sublime Stitching, came in the mail today. It’s awesome and I’ll probably blog about it.

Books

I finished A Feast for Crows this week! There was a really interesting “revealing of information” toward the end, and I’m excited to see things start rolling in that direction. I took a few days off, haha, and started in on A Dance with Dragons. This book is already much more enjoyable, because it’s got Tyrion and Jon Snow! 🙂

I’m loving PaperBackSwap. I’ve got a huge wish list – seems like everyone else wants to read the books I want, lol. I’ve received several books, though, and they’re all in great shape. Is it bad that I want to hurry through DwD so I can get to these ones? Come join me! Send me a friend request and/or a message, if you like. And please take my old books!

Movies and TV

A great week, this! Just look at the pile of movies I found! 🙂

Repeaters:Game of Thrones on HBO (Sunday evening) – This is my #1 priority show, even above Doctor Who. 😉Grimm on NBC (Friday evening) – this show started out weak but it’s greatly improved. It’s really suspenseful and good.Last Man Standing on ABC (Tuesday evening) – also improving as it goes.Once Upon a Time on ABC (Sunday night) – if loving Mr Gold is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Also, loving Eion Bailey! (We’re still behind a little; don’t spoil me!)Doctor Who plays frequently on BBC America, and if you’re not watching it there’s a deep void in your life. This week’s offerings include Midnight, Turn Left, and The Stolen Earth & Journey’s End.Best Ink on Oxygen (Tuesday night) – a tattoo artist competition show. It’s pretty similar to the one Spike ran recently. Quite good.The Big Bang Theory on CBS (Thursday night) – if you don’t know, nothing I say will help. Just watch it.

One-timers:Fried Green Tomatoes (HBO Family, Thursday wee hours) – really awesome tale of life in the Great Depression, as well as an empowering bit of femininity.The Shawshank Redemption (AMC, Sunday evening) – Morgan Freeman is all the reason you need to watch this.Braveheart (AMC, Sunday wee hours) – classic.McLintock! (AMC, Saturday) – one of John Wayne’s best.Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (IFC, Tuesday evening) – do you know where your towel is?I Am Legend (TNT, Saturday evening & Sunday afternoon) – these are my favorite zombies. I hope TNT doesn’t butcher it.Alice in Wonderland (Burton version) (ABCF, Saturday & Sunday evening) – visually stunning, of course, and a really interesting take on the tales of Alice.The Face on the Milk Carton (ABCF, Sunday morning) – never seen this, but I loved the book series as a kid. If it stinks, it costs me nothing.Finding Neverland (ABCF, Saturday evening) – Biopic of JM Barrie, creator of Neverland, starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. It’s a beautiful thing.Gone in 60 Seconds (ABCF, Thursday evening) – one of Nic Cage’s better movies. With the added bonus of the Ninth Doctor as the bad guy!Dune (BBCA, Sunday wee hours) – I recorded this a long time back and it got deleted before I could finish it. I’ve been waiting for it to come on again. 🙂The Tale of Despereaux (The Hub, Saturday evening & Sunday afternoon) – I liked the story, but not a huge fan of the writing style of the book. Giving the movie a try. Missy should like it, anyway.

Now that you know what I’m watching and reading, tell me what you’re turning your rabbit ears toward! What’s worth reading and watching in the world this week?

Books

I’m still lost in Westeros. Working my way through Feast for Crows (that’s book 4). It’s a bit tough to get through, but don’t let that scare you off. The first three books are one wonder after another, and this lull in the action I’m working on is just the calm before the storm.
In spare moments, I’ve also been reading Luminosity. It’s a “fan fiction,” I guess. It’s a re-write of Twilight, wherein the characters don’t suck! (Come at me, haters.) No really. It’s what Twilight should have been. I’ve always maintained that it was a great idea, badly handled, and this is its redemption. It is full book-length, but worth the time.

I recently joined PaperBackSwap, and I love it. I’ve had a huge box of books stored in my garage – books I didn’t want for one reason or another. I listed them all (over 90!) and I’ve already sent out 13 of them (and have 2 more requests since Saturday). You receive 2 “credits” when you join and list 10 books, and one credit for each book you send out. You pay the postage to mail out your books, but when you “buy” a book with your credits, it’s completely free! I’m really enjoying it. Come join me! Send me a friend request and/or a message, if you like. And please take my old books!

Movies and TV

Another crummy week. There was very little that caught my eye this week. I don’t check every channel, though – so please, if you know of something good, let me know! (Don’t let that pile of repeaters fool you – this week is barren.)

Repeaters:Full Metal Jousting on History (Sunday evening) – JOUSTING. That is all.Game of Thrones on HBO (Sunday evening) – of course! I haven’t watched this week’s episode yet, but I will soon!Grimm on NBC (Friday evening) – this show started out weak but it’s greatly improved.Last Man Standing on ABC (Tuesday evening) – also improving as it goes.Once Upon a Time on ABC (Sunday night) – as a Fables junkie, this scratches my itch. We’re a few episodes behind, so no spoilers!Doctor Who plays frequently on BBC America, and if you’re not watching it there’s a deep void in your life. This week’s offerings include The Silence in the Library pair (bring some Kleenex) and The Unicorn and the Wasp (Agatha Christie!).Pawn Stars on History (Monday night) – I can’t help it. I love Chumlee. Corey can jump off a bridge though. Also check out American Restoration on Wednesday night.Best Ink on Oxygen (Tuesday night) – a tattoo artist competition show. It’s pretty similar to the one Spike ran recently. Quite good.My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on the Hub (Saturday afternoon) – YES. (I have a preschooler so I do have a legit excuse for this, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.) This week is the Royal Wedding and season finale.

Contact is airing several times on AMC this week. SPACE. Carl Sagan. That is all. (I ordered this book off PBS, by the way, and it‘s on its way arrived on Tuesday!)Bend It Like Beckham is a great movie about sports and girls and race and how hot Beckham is, and it’s on HBO a couple times this week.
If you’ve never seen The Boondock Saints, tune in to IFC this week.

Finally, in honor of Earth Day, BBC America is running a marathon of Planet Earth all day on Saturday, so don’t miss it.

Now that you know what I’m watching and reading, tell me what you’re turning your rabbit ears toward! What’s worth reading and watching in the world this week?

This may or may not become a regular feature. Let me know what you think! This post is more-or-less an introduction to me and my idea here, so the regular feature will be a little different. Let’s discuss this!

Books

I am a voracious reader. I read quickly and I read often. I’m a re-reader also – I prefer to own books so I can read them again and again. I do love libraries, and go to mine often, but I like to be able to pick up a comfortable tome and return to its world. I’ve definitely been known to purchase books after borrowing them from a library.
I’m also a “cover chooser” – if I’ve got money to burn and a bookstore to lurk in (which I don’t anymore since Borders closed), I’ll find something with a cover that appeals to me. This usually doesn’t fail me – that’s how I’ve found several authors that I really like!
I’ve got a Kindle Fire, which is super nice. 🙂 E-books are cheaper. Also I follow a blog that searches out free books and posts them, so I regularly add freebies to my library.

Soon, I’m hoping to post book reviews. 🙂 I’ve been neck-deep in the world of Westeros (that’s A Song of Ice and Fire, or the books that Game of Thrones is based on) for quite a long time now. I’m near the end of the fourth book. The first 3 each got better and better, but I’ve gotta admit that I’m kinda slogging though this one. It’s not a flaw of the book so much as a flaw of epics – there’s always that part in the middle. The calm before the final storm, as it were.
I’m not “reviewing” these books yet because I need to re-read them before I’ll be prepared to do that. There’s just SO MUCH in them. Also I want to be able to go back and find all the foreshadowing. 🙂

I’m also going to take a page out of my friend Kyra‘s book and try out “Reviews of Books I Wouldn’t Normally Buy.” All those free books I get on my Kindle – some of them are just “hey that sounds cool” but definitely nothing I would have bought. Unknown authors, genres I’m not familiar with, etc. She did this recently, and I really liked it. Usually when you read a book review, the reviewer is a fan of the genre or the author so there’s a bit of bias. Her glowing review had even more impact since she was unfamiliar with it! So I’m gonna try to bring that feature here. I’m thinking a group of mini-reviews (many seem to be shorter works), supplemented by an occasional longer review in its own post.

Movies and TV

I’m a DVR addict. Each week, I scour our favorite channels to see what’s on and what’s good in the coming week. This week is a rather crummy one, not much good coming up.

Just for fun though, here’s a small selection of what I’m recording this week:Repeaters:Full Metal Jousting on History (Sunday evening) – JOUSTING. That is all.Game of Thrones on HBO (Sunday evening) – of course!Grimm on NBC (Friday evening) – this show started out weak but it’s greatly improved.Last Man Standing on ABC (Tuesday evening) – also improving as it goes. Interesting to compare to Home Improvement (both starring Tim Allen).
Honorable mention – Once Upon a Time usually is on ABC on Sunday nights, but it doesn’t seem to be playing this week. Also, Doctor Who plays frequently on BBC America.

One-timers:Ice Princess on ABC Family (Saturday afternoon) – shut up I love this movie.Legion on FX (Wednesday evening) – Paul Bettany? Yes.
(Usually there are SO MANY movies, but I warned you – this is a crummy week.)

In future editions of this blog, if there are any, I’d like to share mini-reviews of episodes and movies. I’d also love to hear from you guys out there – what you’re watching, what I should think about watching, etc. I want to have conversations here!

I’ve been Making Things. I’ve kinda clocked out of the internet lately, but I have been BUSY otherwise. I’ve got so many posts in the queue lol. What’s really funny is I was just about ready to compile my weekend roundup on Sunday morning and just … didn’t do it. LOL.

I’ve got several foodblogs coming. I made a bunch of jewelry last night, and I’m planning some tutorials for chainmaille. I am, at this very moment, working on a half-shirt of “patchwork maille” for my husband. It’s an interesting process.

Also, we just got HBO. So I’m watching Game of Thrones. (Well to be precise, at the moment I’m watching The A-Team, but we’ve been working our way through GOT.) I am a little ways into the second book, and we’re on episode 8 of the show’s first season. I am SO OBSESSED. 🙂